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Slouching Towards Bethlehem,
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Iniville
The essays are short but immersive. Slouching Towards Bethlehem or The White Album are both good places to start. My favorite is Where I Was From, which is more of a book-length essay about California. I am also a big fan of Play It As It Lays. It's a brutal, atmospheric novel. There's a documentary about her on Netflix made by her nephew Griffin Dunne called Joan Didion: the Center Will Not Hold that might be of interest to you if you haven't read any of her work yet (or even if you have).
Rodney Phillips
Do Not start withe the latest---but the first ones
Emmett
Yes start with the newer The Year of Magical Thinking.
She gets better with time.
She gets better with time.
Maggie Grace
Start with something newer, like The Year of Magical Thinking. I thought Slouching was a big yawn. But that's just me.
Tracey
Just read my first Didion, "Year of Magical Thinking." Although it was somewhat plodding in the first half (but still held attention and very good in general), it really propelled in the last 100 pages, became quite brilliant and affecting. Now I need to find my next Didion and do not want to be disappointed. Recommendations?
Sharon Draws
I started with Slouching Towards Bethlehem. It was interesting both as an historical record of America and also for the writing style which is to be admired.
Rachel Dows
Blue Nights! Beautiful prose and a little insight into Didion's personal life. Alternatively, "Play it as it Lays" for some fantastic fiction.
aubrey hutson
Play it as it Lays as the best novel ever written
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